On such surfaces, it always comes down to balancing dew and the slowness of the surface. Specifically, by batting first, Australia are hoping the dew doesn’t come in and take away the advantage they may have of bowling second on a dry pitch that will have worn even further.
It was also a landmark match for MA Chidambram Stadium, which opened all its stands to the crowds after a long time.
Australia 1 Travis Head, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Steven Smith (capt.), 4 David Warner, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Ashton Agar, 10 Mitchell Starc, 11 Adam Zampa
India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed Siraj